Severe Autism: Interview with Jill Escher, President of National Council on Severe Autism

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1. The reason "high" and "low" functioning autism were removed from the DSM was because there is no proof that the genetics that make up "high" and "low" functioning autism are actually that different from each other. No one is erasing the vast experiences of what autistic people and their families go through. It's just that the words and rhetoric used to describe these situations have changed. 

   Also, the differences being pointed out between "mild" and "severe autism" are mostly behavioral, but autism is not a behavioral condition. Also, any link between autism and intellectual disability is very unclear because the two can present themselves so similarly but can be quite different genetically. Now, autistic people CAN be intellectually disabled, but to say that autism causes some people to be intellectually disabled is nothing more than plain speculation.

   Finally, I would highly recommend you read the poem "Two Houses" by "low functioning" autistic Henry Frost to get a clearer picture of why it's so problematic to be clinging onto outdated labels and how we can do better than that.

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2. I sympathise with the challenges Jill was discussing in relation to her experience as a mother to severely autistic children. However, it isn’t reasonable to expect people in the actually autistic community to not stand up for their point of view as well. The problem, as you identified, is that the diagnosis is far too broad to be helpful to anyone. I don’t think it would be a positive or helpful thing for my type of autism to be prevented, and I do resent people for suggesting it. However, I do understand why you would want to prevent the pain of the severely autistic. The problem with the disagreements between the two sectors of the spectrum, is that the parties involved are effectively speaking about two completely different conditions/situations.

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